Blue Fulmar in the Pentland Firth

I have been lucky enough to be visiting various of the Orkney islands for the past fortnight. Always a fantastic archipelago - packed with outstanding wildlife, archaeology and scenery - the weather was not the kindest this year and as it was a work visit I was unable to make the most of the birding on offer. For example I missed out on the phenomenal passage of Long-tailed Skuas last week despite being on Westray at the time... not to mention the Garganeys, White-billed Diver, Red-backed Shrikes, etc. Next time?...

Here is my best sighting of the fortnight - a blue Fulmar - an intermediate/dark morph of our Northern Fulmar. Only my fourth sighting of this form, I was pleased to get these record shots as the bird passed the ferry back to mainland Scotland, especially since I failed to get any shots of a probable at Seafield earlier this year.